Once again, the government is on the brink of a shutdown — it’s just 18 days away — and the House has left town with a flurry of legislative plans bouncing around. The Senate is rejecting every single one out of hand.

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Reid hits Boehner on Obamacare

Previewing fall fiscal battles

Summer’s out. Divided, panicked Washington is back.

It’s not complete madness, yet. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House leadership have all but canceled their one week off this month, giving Congress 12 legislative days to come to an agreement to avert a shutdown on Oct. 1st. The Senate seems confident for now to sit back and see if the House can pass anything.

Congress has to balance conservative desires to defund Obamacare and keep spending low with the Democratic goal of passing a clean continuing resolution through December, and get working on the 2014 spending plans.

But once that’s over, things don’t get much easier. The debt ceiling needs to be lifted in mid-October — a fight the Republicans have branded as far more consequential than government funding.

But passing a CR is proving to be quite nettlesome. Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have roughly 30 members who reject any CR that doesn’t defund Obamacare. Conservatives revolted against a government-funding bill that included a non-binding resolution to chip away at the law. And House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Thursday he hadn’t yet been updated by the speaker on a path forward.

Boehner, speaking to reporters Thursday, sought to downplay the upheaval.

“There’s all this speculation about deadlines that are coming up,” Boehner said. “I am well aware of the deadlines. So are my colleagues. And so we’re working with our colleagues to work our way through these issues. I think there’s a way to get there, and I’m going to be continuing to work with my fellow leaders and other members to address those concerns.”

House conservatives are latching onto a proposal that originated from the Republican Study Committee, but has absolutely no chance of becoming law. The proposal would fund the government, delay Obamacare for a year and replace the sequester with the savings. If the House sends the Senate that bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he will knock out that legislative text and vote on a clean CR, which aides believe could pick up enough GOP support to send back to the House.

Boehner appeared to dismiss an RSC-promoted option as just one of many being discussed.

“There are a million options that are being discussed by a lot of people.” Boehner said. “When we have something to report, we’ll let you know.”

The wild House Republican Conference isn’t all Boehner has to contend with — he has to get a bill through the Senate. Reid said all of the House’s work to defund Obamacare is for naught.

“Those in touch with reality — and most everyone is in touch with reality — understand passing a clean CR is the right thing to do,” Reid said.

Boehner, Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) met Thursday in Boehner’s office for roughly 45 minutes to discuss government funding and the other fiscal issues on the horizon, including the debt ceiling. Sources familiar with the meeting said there were no breakthroughs, although Reid said it was not a contentious event either.

Boehner told reporters he urged the group to allow negotiations over the debt ceiling, something Democrats have firmly resisted.

“I reminded them that for decades, the White House, the Congress, have used the debt limit to find bipartisan solutions on the deficit and the debt. The types of changes were signed into law by Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and President Obama himself two years ago. So President Obama is going to have to deal with this, as well. It’s really no different. You can’t talk about increasing the debt limit unless you’re willing to make changes and reforms that begin to solve the spending problem that Washington has.”

In a statement, McConnell said that Congress needs to keep sequester cuts in place.

“We need to start by keeping the cuts we’ve already agreed to. It’s time to get serious about the challenges we face and reposition America for growth and prosperity in the 21st Century,” McConnell said in a statement provided by his office.

Democrats are pretty downtrodden about all of the negotiations.

“The anarchists have taken over. They have taken over the House. Now they’re here in the Senate,” Reid said early Thursday. “We’re in a position here where people who don’t believe in government — and that’s what the tea party is all about — are winning. That’s a shame.”